Political parties have been quick to promise action after ‘sobering figures’ about the continued ‘male, pale and stale’ face of Scottish politics. Dr. Meryl Kenny and Dr. Fiona Mackay reported that less than 1:4 candidates in the forthcoming local government elections are women, 1:7 contests are male-only, and all the major political parties are fielding less than 30% female candidates.

As leading Labour local politician Rhondda Geekie said:

‘These figures are a stark reminder of the scale of the challenge that Scotland faces. Local councils have to look like the communities they serve, or else they risk not serving those communities properly.’[1]

Our original report has provoked media debate on the lack of progress made by political parties to date on women’s representation. As we highlighted, thirteen years after devolution heralded a ‘new dawn’ in women’s representation –…